Gente Ruthenus, natione Polonus (Ruthenian origin, of Polish nationality) — a term describing the political and national self-identification of Polonized Ruthenians (modern Belarusians, Rusyns, Ukrainians).
History
The authorship of this phrase has historically been attributed to the Ruthenian-Polish Renaissance thinker Stanisław Orzechowski, who, in the absence of a Ruthenian state, outlined a new political identity for the Ruthenian nobility. This identity emphasized a strong awareness of their Ruthenian origins while simultaneously acknowledging their belonging to the "Polish political nation". Later research, however, has shown that Orzechowski did not use the exact phrase gente ruthenus, natione polonus. The closest formulation he used was gente Roxolani, natione vero Poloni or, as he described himself, homo ex Ruthenis ortus, Romano tamen ritu. The latter was meant to emphasize that Ruthenians could belong to different religious rites. Today, such interpretations of Orzechowski's views are questioned due to his pro-Polish stance.
This self-identification became widespread in Galicia in the 19th century among Ruthenians who consciously chose Polishness as their new identity, allowing them to advance socially (e.g., I. Vahylevych, O. Krynytsky, Yu. Lavrivsky). It was also adopted by members of the old Polonized Ruthenian aristocracy who "recalled" and appealed to their Ruthenian origins (e.g., W. Dzieduszycki, J. Kossak, L. Sapieha). Emphasizing their "Ruthenianness" gave them the legitimacy to represent the Ruthenian people while promoting the idea of a "common homeland" and "brotherhood" of nations, aiming to align Ruthenian issues with Polish interests. During the Spring of Nations, they formed their political committee — the Ruthenian sobor and its publication — the Dnevnik Ruskij, which, however, was less popular than the St. George's faction and the Supreme Ruthenian Council. Despite this, they managed to secure prominent positions at the Prague Slavic Congress, 1848.
Modern Usage
Today, this term and its derivatives are used retrospectively to describe members of Polonized Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Lithuanian noble families from various historical periods.
Derivatives such as gente ruthenus, natione lithuanus and gente polonus, natione lithuanus have also been used to describe Ruthenians and Poles who lived in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and, despite their origins, primarily identified as its citizens — Litvins.
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